Juliana Hatfield (born July 27, 1967 in Wiscasset, Maine, United States), i… Read Full Bio ↴Juliana Hatfield (born July 27, 1967 in Wiscasset, Maine, United States), is an American guitarist/singer-songwriter from the Boston area, formerly of the indie rock band Blake Babies. She also records as The Juliana Hatfield Three. In 2015, Hatfield and American musician Paul Westerberg formed the duo The I Don't Cares.

The daughter of Philip M. Hatfield (a radiologist) and The Boston Globe fashion critic Julie Hatfield, Hatfield was born in Maine and grew up in the Boston suburb of Duxbury. She acquired a love of rock music during the 1970s, having been introduced by a babysitter to the music of the seminal Los Angeles punk rock band X, which proved a life-changing experience. She was also attracted to the music of more mainstream artists like Olivia Newton-John and The Police, perhaps explaining the dialectic in her later music between sweet, melodic "pop" songs and more hard rock oriented material. Visualizing herself as a singer since her high school years, Hatfield sang in school choirs and briefly played in a cover band called The Squids, which played Queen and Rush songs.

Hatfield began her solo career following the Blake Babies' breakup in 1991, releasing her first solo album Hey Babe in 1992. The album was one of the highest selling independent albums of 1992. Hatfield recruited a rhythm section comprised of former Moving Targets and Bullet LaVolta drummer Todd Phillips, and Thudpucker bassist Dean Fisher, and thus becoming The Juliana Hatfield Three.

Hatfield achieved alterna-rock stardom with the release of 1993's Become What You Are (recorded under the group name The Juliana Hatfield Three). Several songs from the album received regular airplay on major North American rock stations, with Hatfield's song "My Sister" becoming the biggest hit of her career with the video becoming an MTV staple. Another one of her songs ("Spin the Bottle") was used in the soundtrack of the Hollywood film Reality Bites (1994). Hatfield also made the cover of Spin magazine. Hatfield's popularity coincided with the success, in the mid-1990s, of many other female musicians (such as Liz Phair, PJ Harvey, Belly, Letters to Cleo, Velocity Girl, The Breeders, Hole, Veruca Salt, Poe, Throwing Muses, Magnapop, Bettie Serveert). Although she has always maintained that her gender is of only incidental importance to her music, Hatfield was pleased to have been invited, in 1997, to tour with the first Lilith Fair, a prominent all-female rock festival founded by singer Sarah McLachlan. Hatfield was profiled in a number of girls' magazines at this time and was embraced by many pre-teen and teenage girls as a role model due to the positive way she addressed serious issues faced by young women in her songs and interviews. About this period she says: "I was never comfortable with the attention. I thought it had come too soon. I hadn’t earned it yet." She gained notoriety in 1992 for saying that she was still a virgin in her mid-twenties in Interview magazine. In a 1994 interview for the magazine Vox she said she was surprised by the effect 'outing' herself had: "I think there are a lot of people out there who don't care about sex, but who you never hear from, so I thought I should say it. The magazine I did the interview for is full of beef-cake hunky guys and scantily-clad models, so I thought it would be really funny to say that I didn't care about sex in a magazine that's full of sex and beauty - but no one really got the joke."

In 1995, following the success of Become What You Are she released her followup album, Only Everything, in which she "turned up the volume and the distortion and had a lot of fun". One reviewer describes it as "a fun, engaging pop album". The album spawned another alternative radio hit for Hatfield in Universal Heart-Beat. The video featured Hatfield as an overly demanding aerobics instructor. Prior to the tour for 'Only Everything', Hatfield released Phillips and brought on Jason Sutter (American Hi-Fi, Chris Cornell, Jack Drag), as well as Ed Slanker (Thudpucker, Tinsel) on 2nd guitar, and Lisa Mednick on keyboards. Two weeks into the tour, Hatfield canceled the tour citing exhaustion, and took a month long break. Sutter was replaced by once again drummer Phillips, and touring resumed with Jeff Buckley as the opening act.

In 1996 she traveled to Woodstock, New York where she recorded tracks for God's Foot, which was to be her fourth solo album (third if not counting Become What You Are, which was recorded with the Juliana Hatfield Three), intended for 1997 release. Containing some of Hatfield's finest work to date, the album was unfortunately put on indefinite hold by her record company due to a disagreement with Hatfield. Only substandard bootleg versions of these songs (which do not meet Hatfield's approval) have surfaced and she has rarely featured them in her subsequent live performances.

During this time Hatfield left Atlantic Records and ventured back into indie-world. She recorded a six song EP titled Please Do Not Disturb, along with Todd Phillips and Ed Slanker, and with new bass player Mikey Welsh (Weezer). The EP produced by Hatfield features a tender song "Trying Not To Think About It" which is a tribute to the deceased musician Jeff Buckley who was a friend of Hatfield's. The EP was released on Bar/None Records in 1997.

Following the traumatic experiences surrounding God's Foot and her departure from Atlantic Records, Hatfield recorded the album Bed in 1998 in six days, about which she says on her website: "It sounds as raw as I felt. It has no pretty sheen. The mistakes and unattractive parts were left in, not erased. Just like my career. Just like life."

In 2000, she released Beautiful Creature, an album which was among the most critically well-received of her career. This album left the rockier side of Hatfield's musical personality unexpressed, however, so at the same time she also recorded Juliana's Pony: Total System Failure with Zephan Courtney and Mikey Welsh, which she describes as "a loud release of tension", with "lots of long sloppy guitar solos. And no love songs...a not-at-all attractive reaction to the ugly side of humanity, specifically American culture" The two albums were initially released in a set as a pair. Juliana's Pony: Total System Failure was however received very badly by the critics, who much preferred the acoustic songwriting on Beautiful Creature. On Beautiful Creature Hatfield worked with Austin-based musician Davíd Garza who co-produced much of the album. Wally Gagel a producer for Sebadoh and Tanya Donelly helped Hatfield record her most electronica influenced songs "Cool Rock Boy" and "Don't Rush Me" which added texture to the otherwise acoustic album.

2002 saw the release of Hatfield's first "best-of" album. The album, titled Gold Stars 1992-2002: The Juliana Hatfield Collection, featured the singles from her solo albums. It also contained two of the songs from the previously unreleased God's Foot, a cover of Neil Young's Only Love Can Break Your Heart, as well as four new recordings.

In 2004 Hatfield released In Exile Deo, which was arguably an attempt at a more commercial sound, with input from producers and engineers who'd worked with Pink and Avril Lavigne. Hatfield did however produce the album herself with David Leanord receiving co-production credits on "Jamie's In Town" and the bright rocker "Sunshine'. The critics loved it, with a couple calling it her best work since the start of her solo career.

By contrast, the 2005 album Made in China was released on her own new record label, Ye Olde Records, and has a much rawer feel. John Doe of the band X described the disc as "A frighteningly dark & beautiful record filled w/ stark, angular, truly brutal songs & guitars. This is surely a 'Woman Under the Influence', though I'm not sure of what". Reviews were very mixed, with some liking the lo-fi sound, but others seeing it as slackness.

In December 2005 Hatfield toured the United States with the band X, whom she idolized during her teenage years.

In 2006, Hatfield released her first live album. Titled The White Broken Line: Live Recordings, the album featured performances from her tour with X. This was Hatfield's third release for her record label.

Hatfield's 9th studio album, How To Walk Away was released on August 19, 2008 on Ye Olde Records. The album's heartfelt subject on the break-up of a relationship resonated with critics, who gave the album largely positive reviews, with some hailing it as her best album since In Exile Deo.

On September 29, 2008 it was followed by her memoir, When I Grow Up.

Hatfield returned 2 years later as her 10th studio album Peace & Love was released on Ye Olde Records, February 16, 2010. The album's composition, arrangement, performance, production, engineering and mixing was solely credited to Hatfield.

There's Always Another Girl was released on August 30, 2011 again independently on her Ye Olde Records label.

In 2013, she joined with Matthew Caws (of Nada Surf) to form the duo Minor Alps.

In 2014, The Juliana Hatfield Three reunited two decades after it disbanded. Hatfield, drummer Todd Philips, and bassist Dean Fisher began practicing new material for an album, which would be their first together since Become What You Are in 1993.

In 2015, Hatfield and American musician Paul Westerberg formed the duo The I Don't Cares.

http://www.julianahatfield.com/

My enemy
Juliana Hatfield Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Put your ear next to my beating heart
Still alive
And if you pick me up in your arms
I'll give you one more chance
To try and knock me down again
If you want to stand me up on frozen ground
Go on take aim when I open my mouth
I still love my enemy

I still love my enemy
You appointed me the stoic one
Not allowed to cry these tears
But silence belies the pain
You pushed inside
Impossible to love
Is all that I know how to be
But in my heart
I keep repeating
You didn't mean to hate me

I still love my enemy
I still love my enemy ...

Overall Meaning

In Juliana Hatfield's song "My Enemy", the lyrics convey a sense of perseverance and resilience despite being hurt by someone who is meant to be a loved one. The lyrics start off with a commanding and intimate line, "put your ear next to my beating heart". This line draws the listener in and creates a sense of intimacy between the singer and the person she is addressing. The next line, "still alive", suggests that despite the hurt that has been inflicted, the singer is still going strong and has not been crushed. The next two lines, "And if you pick me up in your arms, I'll give you one more chance", convey a sense of defiance and strength, suggesting that the person who has hurt the singer may have some remorse, but the singer is strong enough to give them another chance to hurt her again.

As the song progresses, the singer seems to be addressing someone who has hurt her repeatedly but whom she still loves. She refers to the person as her "enemy" but seems to suggest that their relationship is complicated and multifaceted. She mentions how the person appointed her "the stoic one" and did not allow her to cry. This suggests that the person may have been controlling and manipulative in their treatment of the singer. Despite all this, the singer still loves her enemy and believes that they did not mean to hate her. The repeated line, "I still love my enemy" reinforces this sense of resilience and strength in the face of hurt and adversity.

Overall, the lyrics of "My Enemy" convey a sense of strength and perseverance in the face of hurt and adversity. The singer, despite being hurt repeatedly by someone she loves, still finds the capacity to love and forgive. The lines about being appointed the stoic one and not being allowed to cry suggest that the person who hurt her may have been controlling and manipulative. Despite all this, the singer holds on to the belief that her enemy did not mean to hate her, and she finds strength in this belief.

Line by Line Meaning

Put your ear next to my beating heart
Listen closely to my heart's rhythm

Still alive
I'm still alive despite your attempts to bring me down

And if you pick me up in your arms
If you try to reconcile with me

I'll give you one more chance
I'm willing to try again

To try and knock me down again
To hurt me like you did before

If you want to stand me up on frozen ground
If you want to hurt me again

Go on take aim when I open my mouth
Attack me when I speak

I still love my enemy
I still care for you despite our conflicts

You appointed me the stoic one
You expected me to be strong and unemotional

Not allowed to cry these tears
I couldn't show my sadness

But silence belies the pain
My silence masks the hurt I feel